Research and development about a GaN based HEMT has been conducted mainly as transistors capable of high power and high voltage operations. In addition, it has been theoretically predicted that the GaN based HEMT holds the potential that the operation speed can be higher. The most straightforward approach to make higher the operation speed of an FET such as HEMT is to shorten a gate length.
From the viewpoint of scaling rules of HEMT, as the gate length is shortened, a gate-channel distance is required to be shortened. However, as the gate-channel distance is shortened, a problem of an increase in gate leakage current is likely to occur. In order to avoid an increase in gate leakage current, it is effective to replace Schottky contact with a Metal Insulator Semiconductor (MIS) structure having a gate insulating film inserted between a gate electrode and a semiconductor layer.
Silicon nitride (SiN) is known as typical gate insulating film material to be used for MIS type GaN based HEMT. When the scaling rules are taken into consideration, even if a gate insulating film of SiN is inserted, it is preferable to make the gate-channel distance as short as possible. Methods have been adopted to shorten the gate-channel distance, including a method of forming a recess in a gate insulating film and making a gate electrode in contact with the bottom of the recess, a method of thinning a gate insulating film as much as possible, and the like.
For example, a technique of forming a recess in a gate insulating film is disclosed in the following document 1, and a technique of making a gate insulating film itself as thin as possible is disclosed in the following documents 2 and 3.
Document 1: E. M. Chumbes et al., IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 416-419 (2001)
Document 2: V. Adivarahan et al., IEEE ELECTRON DEVICE LETTERS, Vol. 24, No. 9, pp. 541-543 (2003)
Document 3: M. Ochiai et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phs., Vol. 42, pp. 2278-2280 (2003)